Save Article

Bridge Collapse Could
Spur Infrastructure Fixes

Even as the U.S. focuses on building 21st-century projects such as municipal wireless networks, it continues to be haunted by the crumbling state of its 20th-century roads, bridges and pipes.

The spectacular collapse Wednesday of a 40-year-old bridge across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis could be the event that moves concern about America's "crumbling infrastructure" beyond the usual blue-ribbon commission and magazine cover stories. In contrast to similar tragedies that dot American history -- 46 deaths caused...